Phoenix – The 25th-ranked Carroll College women's basketball team held Embry Riddle to just 13 made field goals and outrebounded the Eagles 40-26 en route to a 47-42 win over ERAU Thursday afternoon at the Arizona Christian Holiday Classic in Phoenix.
The two teams battled for much of the first quarter but Embry-Riddle took a 14-8 lead with 1:28 remaining in the frame. The Saints then rattled off 11-straight points spanning the first and second quarters to take a 19-14 lead with 6:04 left in the first half.
The Saints closed the half with a buzzer-beater from
Michaela Dowdy to take a 27-20 lead into the break.
Carroll built a 37-22 lead with 3:47 left in the third quarter but the Eagles would not go away quietly. ERAU closed the quarter with a 9-2 run to cut the deficit to 39-31 to enter the fourth.
The Eagles continued to chip away in the fourth and cut the lead to 44-41 with 20 seconds remaining but
Brittney Johnson buried a pair of free throws and the Saints had fouls to give, eating away the clock and clinching the 47-42 win.
Hannah Dean scored a game-high 12 points and
Cassidy Hashley added 10 and a game-high eight rebounds. Kylee Reibel scored 10 points off of the bench to lead ERAU.
The win moves the Saints to 11-3 on the year and extends their winning streak to four. The game is the final non-conference game of the season and Carroll will now turn their focus to the tough Frontier Conference slate.
"It definitely was not easy," head coach
Rachelle Sayers said. "We had to battle for everything this afternoon. It was one of our most physical games of the year. I am definitely happy to leave Arizona with two big wins and head into conference winning four in a row. I didn't think we were as sharp as we needed to be but the kids dig deep and got the win, I am very proud of them for that. We were 10-2 in the non-conference against some very quality opponents, we have learned a lot about ourselves and what we are capable of."
The Saints begin Frontier play with a home match-up against the 14th-ranked University of Great Falls on Friday, Jan. 6 at the PE Center.
